Workers killed 'unlawfully'

A MOTORWAY worker from Runcorn and his colleague were unlawfully killed when they were mowed down at 80mph by a woman driver, also killed, who had been prescribed anti-depressants which made her drowsy.

A MOTORWAY worker from Runcorn and his colleague were unlawfully killed when they were mowed down at 80mph by a woman driver, also killed, who had been prescribed anti-depressants which made her drowsy.

Forty-one-year-old Stephen Coulter, of Spennymoor Court, Run-corn, died instantly after suffering multiple injuries in the smash on May 10.

His colleague Raymond Schofield, 48, of Orford, Warrington, was also killed when an N-reg Honda Civic, driven by 31-year-old Mehrunnisa Yusef, smashed through a conedoff area on the M6 between Junctions 19 and 20.

Eyewitnesses told an inquest at Warrington how Mrs Yusef had weaved between a minibus and a 35-tonne articulated lorry as traffic slowed down to 50mph at the road-works.

Police accident investigator PC Michael Prime said Mrs Yusef was travelling at more than 80mph when she ploughed into the two men.

The court heard that Mrs Yusef, of Preston, was being treated for psychiatric problems, including severe Pre-Menstrual Tension (PMT) on the months leading up to the accident.

The day before the crash, she visited psychiatrist Dr Kumar Singh because her menstrual cycle was due to begin.

Dr Singh said the patient had been warned the anti-depressants she had been proscribed could make her drowsy and she should not drive if feeling tired or lethargic.

Dr Singh said Mrs Yusef had complained of marriage problems and wished to leave her accountant husband Ayab, 34, and was suffering pressure from her family.

He said she also felt lonely after relocating to Preston from Essex.

Dr Singh diagnosed Mrs Yusef as suffering from a condition where she sometimes fell into a 'fugue' and, although functioning normally, would have no memory of her actions.

A symptom of the condition is that patients often undertake pointless journeys.

On one occasion last year, Mrs Yusef had driven to Watford on a whim and on the night of the accident had decided to go for a drive on the M6.

Eyewitness Ian Nicholson, of Didcot, Oxfordshire, described his dis-belief at Mrs Yusef's driving seconds before the smash.

'I just couldn't believe what I was seeing,' he told the court. 'The car pulled up beside us and undertook us on the inside then it pulled out in front of us, behind a lorry, before losing control and hitting the side of the motorway workers' lorry before hitting the two men.

Tests on Mrs Yusef's car revealed that both her rear tyres were under-inflated.

PC Prime said: 'The under-inflated tyres would cause considerable handling difficulties if the car was forced to make a severe movement.'

The jury returned verdicts of un-lawful killing in relation to both Mr Schofield and Mr Coulter's deaths and of accidental death in relation to Mrs Yusef.